This invention pertains to building frame structure, and in particular to a method and apparatus for performing precision-placement, and deployment-attaching and welding, of plural beam-end attaching components, referred to also herein as beam mounts, and as beam-mount structure, to plural spaced regions, or sites, that are distributed along the outer sides of elongate, hollow-tube steel columns, which sites are disposed angularly about the long axes of such columns. Especially, it relates to such deployment-attachment and welding activity which is conducted in an efficient and precision manner that introduces no noticeable column warping, or other heat-induced deformation, even in extremely long unitary columns, such as those having lengths, for example, of many story-heights (up to, for example, about four to about eight stories).
For a number of important reasons which include, among other things, a desire for large strength-to-weight ratios in columns, tubular steel columns are highly desirable for use in plural-story buildings. Especially long, unitary columns are also desirable in that they can greatly reduce building-frame assembly time by minimizing the number of column-to-column (stack) connections that are necessary to achieve full building-frame height. Such columns, however, can present challenges during manufacture, and later during assembly with beams, regarding which (in both cases) there are manufacturing and assembling steps wherein it is conventional that high heat (due to welding operations) is (or may be) involved. Such heat can prove to be a difficult culprit (a) during manufacture where a column can warp or twist (even slightly) during cool-down, and (b) during building-frame assembly where extreme local hot regions created during welding operations can introduce similar undesirable, and often difficult to correct or manage, deformations.
There is a recently developed building-frame system with respect to which the present invention offers particular utility. This system is described in a currently co-pending, prior-filed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/943,711, filed on Aug. 20, 2001, covering an invention entitled “Moment-Resistant Building Frame Structure Componentry and Method”. This prior-filed patent application describes a type of collar-form, precision interconnect structure which is employed in a building frame to interconnect upright columns and horizontal beams. The collar form of interconnection illustrated and described in this patent application is generally illustrated herein in drawing FIG. 1—a fragmentary picturing of this system which provides a background for developing an understanding of the basic principals, the structure and the operation of the methodology and apparatus of the present invention. As will be seen in FIG. 1, the interconnect system shown there, collar-form in nature, includes what are referred to in the referenced patent application as inner and outer collar members, the inner ones of which, referred to herein as beam mounts, are designed to be attached, as by welding, to outside faces in a generally square cross section, tubular steel column, and the outer members in which are intended to be attached, as by welding, to the ends of I-beams which are to be anchored to the sides of columns. These outer members are also referred to as beam-end attaching components, or members. The inner and outer collar members complementarily interconnect in a gravity-seating manner through complementary, bevel-edged male and female interface substructures.
The desirability of employing hollow tubular columns in a building frame structure has thus been outlined generally above for background reasons, and as will now be seen, the present invention, methodology and structure, involve a unique method, and an apparatus which implements that method, for deploying and weld-attaching beam mounts in clusters which are appropriately distributed along the length of, and on the outside surfaces, or sides, of such a column. Such deployed and attached beam mounts ultimately provide attaching (anchoring) locations for the ends of beams equipped with a beam-end attaching component, such as those mentioned above, and generally illustrated in FIG. 1. Very specifically, the present invention offers a unique methodology and apparatus which enable precision, and non-heat-deforming, deploying and attaching of clusters of such beam mounts to the outer sides in such a column. As will be seen, the method and apparatus of the present invention are employable completely, and advantageously, in an off-site manner, and under precision control, including computer and robotic control if desired, so as to prepare columns for delivery to a building site with beam-mounts accurately secured in place in undeformed elongate columns, and thus without there being any requirement for on-site workers to conduct any welding or attaching of such mounts to a column.
The preferred implementation of the invention, as has just been suggested, is described and illustrated herein with reference to preparing an elongate, tubular, square cross section column with clusters of beam mounts—four per cluster, with each such four-mount cluster having, essentially, a single-building-story longitudinal separation, or spacing, along the column from each next-adjacent beam-mount cluster. The four mounts in a cluster are disposed (one each) on the four individual faces of such a column.
In this implementation, an elongate jig is provided in accordance with the teachings and preferred practice of the present invention. In this jig, swing-up-swing-down end (and if desired intermediate) stands carrying appropriate idler support rollers are located along an elongate frame which forms part of this jig to receive a horizontally placed “raw” column which, as suggested earlier herein, may have a length up to, say, as much as about eight building stories. For the purpose of illustration herein, such a column is illustrated with a considerably shorter length in order to employ, in the drawings, a more appropriate scale for an understanding of the invention. In the jig, a “raw” column placed on these stands rests at a predetermined elevation, and can be shifted to a proper longitudinal position, as will be explained, as accommodated by the idler rollers which are present in the just-mentioned support stands.
At locations spaced along the jig frame, and thus along the length of a stand-supported column, where particular column support is to be furnished during practice of the invention, and typically with what is referred to herein as a single-building-story longitudinal separation, removable, circular-perimeter guide rings, or rings, are attached to the outside of a stand-supported column. Opposed, openable/closeable swing-arm yokes whose arms carry appropriate idler rollers are distributed in and along the jig. With a column supported on the mentioned stands, and the mentioned guide rings attached to the outside of that column, the arms in these yokes are closed, during a principal portion of practice of the invention, to engage their arm-carried idler rollers with the perimeters of the attached rings. Such closing action of the yoke arms operates to lift the column from the support stands (which are then appropriately lowered to be out of the way), with the guide rings and yokes then (a) maintaining the column in essentially a horizontal condition, (b) stabilizing the column longitudinally, and (c) accommodating, importantly, selective rotation of the column substantially about its own long axis. Such rotation is specifically accommodated by the rolling inter-engagement which exists between the perimeters of the attached column guide rings and the idler rollers which are carried on the opposed swing-arms of the yokes. The significance of such selective rotateability will become apparent.
Generally in this condition of things, an elongate, squirrel-cage carriage is suitably mounted on a supported column through sets of engaging idler rollers which are mounted on, and disposed adjacent opposite ends, of the carriage. These rollers (a) permit low-resistance shifting, or translating, of the carriage along the column, with the column thus significantly acting as a travel way for the carriage, and at the same time (b) effectively “lock” the carriage and column for rotation as a unit with rotation of the column about its own long axis (as accommodated by the attached rings and the supporting idlers rollers carried on the swing-arms in the yokes).
The carriage is designed with appropriate precision-positioned mounting, or staging, structure prepared to carry “clusters” of deployable and attachable beam mounts (four mounts per cluster), with such carried beam mounts being orthogonally related to one another on the carriage about the long axis of a column (with the carriage in place on the column), which clusters are to be weld-attached as a part of deployment to the four outside faces of a supported column at distributed attachment sites that are spaced along the column. Preferably, these attachment sites, with the column in place supported by the yokes, are located longitudinally relatively closely adjacent the yokes. Proper longitudinal positioning or indexing, of the carriage with respect to these sites is accommodated, for example, by a shiftable locking pin which is carried on the carriage, and which can be moved into locking contact with a previously prepared small recess, or bore, provided in a side of a column (one recess or bore associated with each beam-mount cluster attaching site). With the carriage mounted on a column, the long axis of the carriage is substantially coincident with the long axis of the then associated column.
The reference just above made to precision positioning regarding the carriage-carried mounting structure for beam mounts is very significant. This precision positioning is such that the four mounts in a cluster thereof held by the carriage are precisely positioned relative to one another, whereby when they become attached to the sides of a column, no matter whether there is some kind of a modest column deformity at the location of attachment, the resultingly column-attached beam mounts will function with precision, close-tolerance correctness in the ultimately assembled building frame wherein they function to interconnect beam ends with the column.
The carriage has what are referred to herein as upstream and downstream ends, and during practice of the invention the carriage is moved progressively downstream along the column, from attachment site to next-adjacent attachment site, between the yokes. Movement from one attachment site to the next is accomplished and accommodated by opening of the appropriate yoke arms, and by temporary removal of the associated attached column collar, so as to the permit free passage of the carriage past the location of that yoke. The downstream-end idler rollers on the carriage which are interposed the carriage and a supported column, which end always faces that length-portion of a supported column to which no beam mounts have yet been attached to the column faces, are disposed to engage and ride directly upon the column faces. The upstream-end carriage idler rollers, however, are disposed to engage and ride upon the column corners which define the intersections of the column faces. These upstream rollers need to “ride clear” of all just-previously deployed and attached beam mounts as the carriage is moved downstream along a column during practice of the invention.
As will become apparent to those skilled in the art, while practice of the present invention is specifically described herein in conjunction with a particular style of beam mount, intended for use in a particular style of precision building frame structure (as will be more fully described), other types of beam-mount structures, and the like, may readily be accommodated by an appropriate modification of the structure of the invention. Such a modification will, as needed, become fully appreciated by those skilled in the art.
When the carriage is indexed and located properly adjacent a yoke and an associated column attachment site for the attachment of a cluster of beam mounts, tack welding is performed, either manually, or, if desired, under robotic computer control, during deploy-attaching of a carriage-carried and supported cluster of beam mounts, with a selected pattern of attachment-related column and carriage rotation taking place between successive tack-welding operations. More specifically, and at each given beam-mount-attaching location along a column, tack welding is performed with respect to the edges of a pair of beam mounts which are upwardly facing at the time of tack welding (as will be described with reference to two different illustrations provided herein). Following this operation, the beam and carriage are rotated preferably 180° about the beam's own long axis to expose another set of beam-mount edges for tack-welding and attachment. Such tack welding is then performed with respect to these edges, and immediately thereafter, the beam and carriage are subjected to a second rotational operation—this time a 90° rotation—to expose yet another pair of upwardly-facing beam-mount edges for tack welding and attachment. Such attachment and welding is performed then for these now upwardly exposed edges, and immediately thereafter, a third beam and carriage rotation takes place, again through an angle of about 180° to expose the still unattached and final two beam-mount edges for upwardly facing tack attachment. If desired, during all of this deployment and tack-welding activity, a flow of heating or cooling gas, such as ambient air, or intentionally heated air, may be directed through the hollow interior of the beam to aid in intentional pre-heating and/or cooling-down after welding.
Such rotational deployment and attachment activity, with a column supported as described, and with attachment taking place at locations which are disposed closely adjacent the yokes in the mentioned jig structure, has demonstrated that heat-introduced column deformation simply does not occur in any noticeable and undesirable manner.
As will be seen from the description which is presented below, following deployment-attachment of the beam mounts in a cluster of such mounts at a given location along the length of a supported column, the appropriate supporting swing-arm yoke can be “opened” to allow the carriage to be shifted downwardly (i.e., downstream) along the column toward the next site for beam-mount attachment. The rolling contact structure which is interposed the carriage and a supported column allows for such carriage movement, with appropriate clearance provided for the just-attached beam mounts. The manner in which previously supported and carried beam mounts were carried on the carriage allows these beam mounts and the carriage to “part company” with one another as the carriage shifts downwardly along the subject column.
Following movement of the carriage away from a site where deployment-attachment has just taken place, the guide ring and yoke adjacent that location are returned to conditions appropriately supporting the column, and of course, the carriage is moved to the next-adjacent attachment-site location. At that location the carriage is re-equipped, or re-armed, with another set, or cluster, of beam mounts in readiness for the next deployment-attachment operation.
From the standpoint of methodology, and from one point of view, the invention can be expressed as a method for deploy-attaching beam-mount structure to the outside of an elongate column at plural, defined attachment sites that are distributed and spaced along the length of the column, with this method including the steps of (a) preparing an elongate column to act as a travel way for a carriage which is designed to transport and deploy beam-mount structure, (b) mounting such a carriage for translation on and along a prepared column, (c) shifting the carriage progressively along the column from defined attachment site to defined attachment site, (d) arming the carriage with deployable beam-mount structure, (e) at each site, stabilizing the carriage positionally with respect to the column, and (f) at that site, and from the thus stabilized carriage, deploy-attaching to the column the carriage-armed beam-mount structure.
Yet another broadly stated view of practice of the invention can be expressed as a method for deploy-attaching beam mounts to a selected, outside face of an elongate column at plural, defined attachment sites that are distributed and spaced along the length of that face, with this method including the steps of (a) supporting such a column with its long axis disposed in a generally horizontal condition, (b) mounting a beam-mount-transporting carriage in a removably captured condition on the supported column for guided travel along the column, (c) utilizing the column as a travel way, shifting the carriage along the column to a position which is appropriately adjacent a selected one of such defined attachment sites, (d) equipping the carriage with at least one carryable and deployable column-face-specific beam mount which is appropriately disposed in a defined condition of proximity relative to the mentioned, selected column face adjacent the location of the selected one attachment site, and (e) with the carriage and the at least one beam mount so positioned, deploy-attaching that at least one beam mount to the mentioned, selected column face at the selected one attaching site.
Still another of view of the methodology of the present invention involves describing it as a method for deploy-attaching plural, successive beam mounts to a selected, outside face of an elongate column at plural, defined attachment sites that are distributed and spaced along the length of that face, with this view of the methodology including the steps of (a) supporting such a column with its long axis disposed in a generally horizontal condition, and defining one end of the column as an upstream end, and the other end as a downstream end, (b) mounting a beam-mount-transporting carriage in a removably captured condition on the supported column for low-resistance, progressive, guided travel along the column in an upstream-toward-downstream fashion, and from one defined attachment site to a next-adjacent defined attachment site along the selected column face, and (c) with the carriage disposed operatively adjacent each such defined attachment site, and with respect to a beam mount which has previously been placed on the carriage, deploy-attaching that beam mount to the mentioned, selected column face at the then adjacent, associated, defined attachment site. The various features and advantages of the apparatus and methodology of the present invention will now become more fully apparent as the detailed description which follows is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.